1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to purse safety attachment devices, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved safety attachment purse hook for retaining the shoulder strap of a purse on the shoulder of a coat or jacket of an individual. In order to enable an individual to have free use of their hands, the prior art has provided various securing devices for retaining the straps of pocketbooks and purses to articles of apparel of an individual. However, these devices create a dangerous condition in that if an excessive force is exerted on the strap of the purse or pocketbook, this excessive force will be transmitted directly to the body of the individual. This has the potential for causing serious injury and has created a serious problem. In order to overcome this problem, the present invention provides a purse safety hook which utilizes cooperating hook and loop type fastening strips, of the type sold under the trademark VELCRO, to provide a safety release if excessive force is exerted to the strap of the purse, thus preventing harm or injury to the individual. Additionally, a purse snatcher will frequently grap the purse of an individual while running at a high rate of speed. If the purse strap is rigidly secured to the individual's body, this may result in potential severe injury to the individual. In order to overcome this problem, and to provide an alarm device for the deterrent of purse snatchers, the present invention provides a VELCRO attached purse safety hook which includes an alarm which is actuated by excessive force exerted on the purse strap.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of purse safety attachment devices are known in the prior art. A typical example of such a safety attachment device is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 463,169, which issued to E. Scott on Nov. 17, 1891. This patent discloses a chain securement yoke for a purse or pocketbook which automatically closes the purse or pocketbook when suspended from the chain. U.S. Pat. No. 1,801,227, which issued to H. DeBry on Apr. 15, 1931, discloses a safety attachment for a purse for the deterrent of purse snatchers. The device includes a pair of straps adapted to be secured to the carrying strap of a purse. The attached straps are each provided with a plurality of spikes which will stick the hand of an individual attempting to snatch the purse. U.S. Pat. No. 2,783,926, which issued to G. Wise on Mar. 5, 1957, discloses a safety attachment hook for securing a purse to an article of an individual's apparel. U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,915, which issued to E. Burhans on Apr. 13, 1976, discloses an attachment hook device for securing a purse to the belt of an individual. A downwardly open hollow receptacle is provided for attachment to a portion of a person's body by means of a belt or similar support secured about the waist of the individual. The upper end of the receptacle is closed except for a small diameter opening and a short length flexible anchor member is provided which is slidably received through the small diameter opening. The end portion of the anchor member passes downwardly to the interior of the receptacle and is provided with a releasable catch assembly for releasably anchoring a selected portion of a purse.
While the above mentioned devices are suited for their intended usage, none of these devices provide a safety attachment purse hook which utilizes cooperating VELCRO fastening strips to provide a safety release mechanism to prevent injury to an individual if an excessive force is exerted on the strap of the purse. Additionally, none of the aforesaid prior art purse safety attachment devices provide a safety attachment hook which includes an alarm activated when an excessive force is exerted on the strap of the purse. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of purse safety attachment devices, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for and interest in improvements to such purse safety attachment devices, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.